Solomon Islands – Uepi Island
Wednesday, 9 February 2011I’m making a short trip around the Solomon Islands and then continuing for an even shorter visit to that most unusual Pacific nation, Nauru.
I started by flying Melbourne-Brisbane-Honiara and since I had a very tight connection in Brisbane (and couldn’t get an earlier flight) I was concerned I’d even get there. But so far I’ve had an absolutely charmed trip. All my flights went on time, arrived on time, made the connections – at Honiara I arrived, got out, asked which way to the domestic terminal, and was pointed down a road which looked like a country lane – 5 minutes walk. Can I take the luggage trolley? Sure. Two minutes down the road 3 nuns driving a pickup truck stop and pick me up! So I arrive at the terminal sitting on my bag in the back of a truck driven by a nun. Great country!
▲ The view from the back of the nun’s pickup truck.
▲ Then I flew down to Marovo Lagoon.
▲ And landed on the grass airstrip at Seghe Airport.
▲ Here’s the Seghe airport terminal, my bag is the black one with the red strap around it. I was picked up there to go across the lagoon to Uepi Island Resort.
▲ We arrived at the ‘Welcome Jetty,’ where we were told ‘this is the best spot at the resort for snorkelling.’ Looking down through all the aquatic life I noticed that as well as pretty little coloured fish there were half a dozen sharks! Including the one above. ‘Oh don’t worry about them, they’re quite friendly.’
▲ Next day scuba diving we went to two World War II aircraft wrecks, I’m holding on to one of the propellers of a P38 Lightning that crashed just beyond the Seghe runway.
